Appendix 1
Perth and Kinross Council · 2 November 2022
Back to Learning and Families Committee — 2 November 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Attainment Update 2021/22
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Executive Summary The Education Service Improvement Plan 2022/23 was produced and submitted to the Scottish Government in September 2022. This annual plan meets the requirements set out by the Scottish Government on planning and reporting progress on the priorities set out in the National Improvement Framework (NIF) for education. This supplementary report provides more detail on the attainment data pertinent to the Raising Attainment Strategy and provides an update on key achievements for the academic session 2021/22 on the progress against the NIF. A range of performance information is presented in this report, key points highlighted are: Improvement in attainment particularly in literacy and numeracy • The proportion of P1s meeting developmental milestones before starting primary school has improved to 83% (from 82% in 2021). • For primary pupils, achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels has improved and is largely the highest seen in almost all curricular areas and stages. • For secondary pupils in S3 achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels have improved by 8% on those last recorded in 2019 • In literacy, 2021 school leavers’ levels are slightly below the virtual comparator (the short-term target) and approaching the stretch aim at both levels 4 and 5. In numeracy, further improvement is required to meet both aspirations. Comparison is difficult because of the alternative approaches in 2020 and 2021. • Overall leavers` attainment as measured by tariff score remains similar to the virtual comparator. The lowest attaining 20% of our school leavers remains the area requiring the greatest attention. Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged • The poverty-related gap has narrowed for Primary 1s meeting developmental milestones, meeting the stretch aim of 5% • The poverty-related attainment gap for Primary P1, P4, P7 and Secondary S3 literacy and numeracy shows a mixed picture, narrowing for P4 and S3, but some areas widening at P1 and P7. • The poverty-related attainment gap remained largely static for the school leavers in 2021, considering both literacy and numeracy, and as measured using tariff points. • Staying on rates for S4 pupils to S5 reduced slightly from the high of the previous year and the equity gap for this measure has increased by 5%. • Attainment of the relatively small cohort of 18 Looked After school leavers dipped slightly in Senior Phase, except for very highest performing young people. • In S3 the achievement of Curriculum for Excellence level 3 increased by 3% to 58% for the 16 Looked After young people. For primary 1, 4 and 7, 49% of the 36 looked after children achieved expected levels, compared to 37% across the previous three reported years. Improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing • School attendance was impacted by COVID-19 in 2021/2022 across primary and secondary sectors, and this area remains a focus for further, sustained improvement. Exclusion rates remain on a steady downward trajectory although more were recorded last year than the previous (exceptional) year. Attendance of looked after young people, especially those looked after at home, remains below that of their peers.
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Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all young people • Positive destinations and participation in positive activities (16–19-year-olds) are improved on previous years and sit positively within a national context. • As of September 2022, there are a total of 582 recorded partnerships between schools and businesses in PKC- 53 more than the previous session. These are recorded at three levels – Engagement, Collaboration and Influencing according to Education Scotland Guidelines. Currently there are 17 partnerships at Influencing level across PKC. It is helpful to consider this report alongside the Education and Children’s Services Annual Performance Report for 2021/22 which considers the full breadth of services provided in the area, including those supporting children and families in a range of ways which may not relate directly to school-based attainment and achievement but act to support children and young people to achieve their fullest potential. The Scottish Government document ‘Framework for Recovery and Accelerating Progress’ has been developed to support the next phase of the Scottish Attainment Challenge. It aims to set high expectations, including annual, ambitious locally identified stretch aims. The objective is to help ensure significant progress is made in recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and in achieving the mission of the Scottish Attainment Challenge. The PKC Raising Attainment Strategy will be coming to an end in its current format this session. The next iteration of the strategy will focus on those stretch aims described above which largely articulate with our current stretch aims.
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1 Introduction This report is a more detailed response to the legislative requirement to report on performance against the National Improvement Framework in the academic session 2021/22. It is supplementary to the Education Annual Improvement Plan, taking fuller consideration of the PKC Raising Attainment Strategy The report outlines progress towards each of the priorities identified in the NIF and provides updates on the main actions outlined in the Raising Attainment Implementation Plan against each of these priorities: • Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy. • Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged. • Improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing. • Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all young people. The Framework for Recovery and Accelerating Progress (the Framework) has been developed to support the next phase of the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC). It aims to set high expectations, including annual stretch aims, developed across all 32 education authorities, to help ensure significant progress is made in recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and in achieving the mission of the SAC. These stretch aims should, as a minimum, include: • Achievement of literacy and numeracy levels for stages P1, P4, and P7 combined • Proportion of school leavers attaining one or more passes at SCQF level 5 • Proportion of school leavers attaining one or more passes at SCQF level 6 • Participation measure: proportion of 16-19 years olds participating in education, employment or training based on Annual Participation Measure produced by Skills Development Scotland; and • Health and wellbeing, using a local measure/suite of measures, including, for example, attendance. Excellence and Equity In order to identify if the actions taken to improve our priorities have been effective, measures are aligned to the strategy’s two overall objectives. 1. Excellence – we strive to improve performance across the board. In simple terms we aim to increase the combined ‘average’ of all individuals and raise the line. 2. Equity – we strive to reduce the “gaps” between those disadvantaged in different ways because of their circumstances. In simple terms, we aim to flatten the line across groups of different advantage/deprivation. These principles are shown simply above but progress will likely be a complex combination of these two factors. In showing progress, we aim to draw upon a broad range of evidence rather than relying on single, narrow measures. Changes are likely to be seen reliably over several years and year-by-year comparison should be done with care.
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2 At local authority level, the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) is used where necessary to understand the effects of poverty, in line with national level approaches. However, for many schools in PKC, SIMD is considered weak for differentiating pupil background or statistical analysis, and the ACORN classification is used preferentially, and is used for equity stretch aims in most cases. Note that in some charts, the vertical axes are adjusted to aid interpretation by focusing on a smaller range of change e.g., showing a range of 50% to 80% instead of 0% to 100%. Care is required as this can sometimes act to exaggerate the size of differences for example between years.
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3 NIF Priority 1: Improvement in attainment, particularly in literacy and numeracy Pre-School Development Broad General Education (Pre-school to S3) Proportion of pupils achieving expected Curriculum for Excellence levels (CfE) of literacy and numeracy at P1, P4, P7 and S3 Analysis: Benchmarking of our performance against other local authorities will not be published until December 2022. At P1, P4, P7 and S3, teacher professional judgements are made of achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels, in literacy (reading, writing, listening and talking) and mathematics/numeracy. Long-term progress in levels achieved is shown across all stages and areas. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, this information was not collected and returned to the Scottish Government as an annual return for academic session 2019/20, at all stages, nor in 2020/2021 for S3. 2021/2022 overall figures show an improved picture compared with the previous year and, largely, to years previous to that. In P1, attainment levels are the highest recorded in all four curricular areas, since collection started in 2016/2017. In P4, levels are up by 3 and 4 percentage points on 20/21 and equal or exceed the previous high in 2018/2019. At P7, like P1, attainment the highest seen since recording began, with a 2 or 3 percentage point increase on 2020/2021. S3 figures have improved significantly and are on the way to the 95% stretch aim for Third level. ➢ These measures have an excellence stretch aim of 85% for all primary curricular areas and 95% for S3. Proportion of P1 children meeting all developmental milestones prior to starting school Analysis: The proportion of P1s meeting all their expected developmental milestones has increased in 2022 to 83.4%. Due to the lockdown, 2020 year’s figures should be seen as unique and not part of the series of data collected consistently since 2016. Boys remain more likely to not meet developmental milestones. Emotional and social development and speech and language are the development areas most commonly not met. ➢ This measure has an excellence stretch aim of 90% to be reached. The short-term target for 2021/22 is for a 2-percentage point improvement on 2019, which has now been achieved. Source: ECS. Data tables are provided in Appendix 1:Table 1
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4 Source: ECS: Data tables are provided in Appendix 1: Table 2. Case Study: Listening and Talking A sustained focus on raising attainment and achievement in listening and talking has improved outcomes for learners at Tulloch Primary School. Research from the Education Endowment Foundation shows that on average pupils who take part in spoken language interventions make approximately 5 months of additional progress over a year, with some studies showing up to six months for pupils from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Senior leaders and staff have worked closely with Voice 21 (a national oracy charity) to plan and deliver a high-quality oracy curriculum throughout the school. The Voice 21 Oracy Framework has supported staff and learners to focus on the physical, linguistic, cognitive, and social and emotional skills that enable successful discussion, inspiring speech and effective communication. The school has created a vision for oracy across the school – ‘to increase engagement in learning, empowering pupils with the belief their voice has value.’ Impact • Teachers have raised confidence to teach oracy skills • Staff have implemented a wide range of universal learning and teaching strategies to support learners. • Learners have developed and deepened their subject knowledge and understanding through talk in the classroom, • Learner participation continues to increase as pupils become more familiar with the oracy framework and understand the progression of skills. This approach has supported children and young people to make very good progress in listening and talking. Progress is reflected in the school’s listening and talking attainment in 2021-2022, where there has been a 5% increase at Primary 4 and 7 % increase in P7, compared to the previous year. The
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5 whole school average also increased by 5%, with the P7 leavers having increased attainment over time by 16%, when compared to their progress at the end of Primary 4. Case Study Early Years In response to the need to improve children’s communication and language the early years team has worked in partnership with NHS speech and language therapists to develop approaches to support development within ELC settings. Every nursery setting has a communication champion who is attending a programme of training. The communication champion is expected to share the messages from training with all staff members and support the embedding of strategies into practice. Evidence of the impact of this programme is detailed within the case study below. Watch my Powtoon: Case Study: Craigie PS Nursery Senior Phase (S4-S6) Looking at attainment throughout the Senior Phase (S4-S6 of secondary), the Scottish Government benchmarking tool, Insight, assists schools and authorities to support the key principles and purpose of Curriculum for Excellence, drawing together a range of attainment data for analysis. Insight includes the Virtual Comparator (VC) feature, which takes the key characteristics that influence attainment of each Perth and Kinross pupil and matches them to the average of 10 similar pupils from across Scotland. This benchmark is an effective way to help understand the local authority strengths and areas for improvement. In this section, the attainment of school leavers is considered, this being the national approach to benchmarking performance and attainment achieved across the entire senior phase of S4, S5 and S6. Note that the alternative certification model, introduced in 2020 and the modified approach in 2021, means that results from these years cannot be directly compared with previous years. Proportion of school leavers achieving literacy and numeracy at SCQF levels 4 and 5 Source: Insight. Data tables are provided in Appendix 1: Table 5 Analysis: Reflecting improvements seen in CfE levels, and bearing in mind difficulties in making recent comparisons, the literacy and numeracy qualifications achieved by school leavers is generally increasing across both SCQF levels 4 and 5. In literacy, levels are a little below the virtual comparator In numeracy, levels are lower at level 5. Focused intervention in 2021/2022 will see this measure improve next session.
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6 However targeted support delivered in session 2020-2021 indicates improvement at literacy and numeracy level 5 in particular in S5 and S6. This should deliver improved numeracy outcomes for 2022 school leavers (reported in 2023). Average Total Tariff Score of school leavers, grouped by achievement level Insight uses a system of “tariff points” to compile ‘latest and best’ attainment for individuals in a way that recognises all types of achievements and awards from a range of qualification providers and types such as National Qualifications, Foundation Apprenticeships, Skills for Work awards, National Progression Awards of Scottish Vocational Qualifications. Using average total tariff points is a convenient way to produce overall summary measures of attainment. Tariff points have no significance or value outwith the Insight benchmarking system. Analysis: Overall the average tariff points have remained relatively steady but have increased in 2020 and 2021 (which are not directly comparable to previous years). The average is similar to the authority’s virtual comparator. Recent increases have been in the middle and highest attaining cohorts, with slower progress for the lowest performing 20% Total tariff points are an essential measure of the bundle of attainment that young people leave school with. They reflect traditional qualifications- Highers and National 5s for example- but also a broader range of qualifications that can be gained through a variety of curricular routes - Skills for Work qualifications and National Progression Awards for example. School curricular planning and partnership with Perth College UHI has a positive impact on this. • This measure has an excellence stretch aim of a 5% increase in tariff points from the 2019 base. This has been met for the middle 60% and highest 20%. The shorter-term target is to match/exceed the virtual comparator, which has largely been met. These targets should be reviewed once the effects of the 2020 and 2021 years are reduced. Source: Insight. Data tables are provided in Appendix 1:Table 7 Attainment Breadth and Depth - School-Leavers This measure considers the number and level of qualifications achieved by school leavers (irrespective of stage of leaving) and is commonly referred to as breadth and depth. The measures used are 5 or more awards at SCQF Level 5, 1, 3 and 5 awards or more at SCQF Level 6 (Higher) and 1 or more award at SCQF Level 7 (Advanced Higher).
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7 ➢ This measure has an excellence stretch aim of a 5-percentage point increase from the 2019 base. This has been met, however 2020 and 2021 are not directly comparable to previous years and so the stretch aim will remain for future years. ➢ Considering the virtual comparator (VC) for individual years, which is a fairer comparison because of the differences in 2020 and 2021, the VC was met or exceeded for Advanced Higher awards but has been slightly below this for the Level 5 and Level 6 measures. Source: Insight. Data tables are provided in Appendix 1: Table 9
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8 NIF Priority 2: Closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged The Raising Attainment Strategy (RAS) and implementation plan has been developed by the Raising Attainment Board (RAB) setting out clearly the focused priorities for PKC and schools, particularly on tackling the poverty-related attainment gap. This supports a collective understanding of key performance measures, including annual targets and overall stretch aims as detailed in this report. Pre-School Development In 2022, 84% of ACORN 1 children met all milestones and 79% of ACORN 4/5 children. The difference provides this equity indicator of ‘gap’ which has reduced to 5%. Pre-school development milestones: Gap between ACORN 4/5 and 1 children meeting all milestones This measure has an equity stretch aim of 5% which has been met and now requires to be sustained and reduced further if possible. ➢ Due to the lockdown, 2020 year’s figures should be seen as unique and not part of the series of data collected since 2016. Source: ECS. Data tables are provided in Appendix 1:Table 1 Broad General Education (P1 – S3) There are poverty-related gaps at all stages/levels of CfE, as shown in the following charts. The 2022 results indicate that for P1 and P7 stages there is a slight increase in the poverty-related attainment gap (as measured by the difference between ACORN 4/5 and 1 performance) in reading and writing. Whilst children from more disadvantaged backgrounds have performed more strongly than ever, those from more advantaged families have improved slightly more, essentially bouncing back more readily after the disruption from COVID-19. However, at P4 and S3 stages there has been improvement (reduction) in the equity gap across all areas. S3 indicates a longer-term downward trend (reduction) in the poverty-related gap. For all primary stages combined, the gap remains slightly wider for writing than for the three other curricular areas.
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9 CfE Levels: Percentage point gap between ACORN 4/5 and 1 at P1, P4 and P7 P1 – Early Level P4 – First Level P7 – Second Level S3 – Third Level ➢ A higher line on this chart indicates a larger equity ‘gap’. This measure has an equity stretch aim of reducing the gap between ACORN 4/5 and 1 to five percentage points. For reference purposes, SIMD-based gaps, are included in Appendix 1: Table 4. Source: ECS. Data tables are provided in Appendix 1: Table 3 Senior Phase (S4 – S6) Continuing the trend shown in the Broad General Education, the equity gap in attainment in Literacy and Numeracy for school leavers has remained stable in 2021 and 2020, particularly at SCQF level 5, after reductions in the 2019 leaver’s cohort. These two years are not directly comparable to previous years. The gap remains greater for Level 5 qualifications and especially for numeracy at that level. However early indications indicate a reduction in these level 5 gaps for leavers last session. Literacy and numeracy gaps at Level 4 are similar. Leavers’ literacy and numeracy – size of the gap between ACORN 4/5 and 1 Stretch Aim 5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2020/21 2021/22 P7 Reading Writing Listening and talking Mathematics & Numeracy Stretch Aim 5% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2021/22 S3 Reading Writing Listening and talking Mathematics & Numeracy
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10 ➢ For the new strategy, this stretch aim is to reduce the gap between ACORN 4/5 and ACORN 1, removing the gap completely for Level 4 and a residual gap of 8% for Level 5, as indicated on the chart. ➢ SIMD figures indicate minimal change at Level 4 but some improvement at Level 5 in both literacy and numeracy (SIMD data in appendix for reference). Source: Insight. Data tables are provided in Appendix 1: Table 6 Case Study: Reading The Scottish Book Trust Reading Schools is an accreditation programme for schools that are committed to building a culture of reading for their learners and communities. Research proves that reading for pleasure is central in supporting equity and wellbeing, having positive impacts on learners’ attainment across the curriculum, critical thinking, creativity, empathy and resilience. Thirty-three primary and secondary schools in Perth and Kinross have now signed up to this accreditation programme, with seven achieving core status and four achieving silver status. Perth Grammar School was invited to share their practice at a national showcase event, in recognition of the work carried out to promote reading for pleasure at core level. Examples of highly effective practice included: • The promotion of the library as a space to promote literacy and reading for pleasure • The use of reading initiatives • Engaging young people in the Scottish Teen Book Prize • Delivering a P7-S1 transition project, including the gifting of a book to every P7 child joining the school • A member of library staff regularly conducts reading groups with reluctant readers and those requiring literacy support to access the curriculum. A series of creative reading-based games and activities were used to change learner perspective from ‘non-reader’ to ‘reader.’ Impact There is a range of evidence to demonstrate increased engagement and involvement in reading for pleasure, development of a positive reading culture and the improvement in literacy skills of young people, particularly those young people with a range of barriers to their learning. • The school conducted a Reading Schools survey with pupils. Over half of pupils completing the survey said they were talking about books more, and almost three quarters of pupils said they were reading more at home. • Most pupils completing the survey (87%) felt that reading helped them with their schoolwork. They felt that reading activities had helped with improving their vocabulary, spelling and grammar, gave them a greater understanding of text and improved their ability to read. • Since joining the programme S3 reading levels at Perth Grammar School have improved from 80% in 2019 to 88% in 2022. • In session 2021/2022 80% of S4 pupils achieved level 5 in literacy compared to a virtual comparator performance of 73%
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11 Average Total Tariff Score of school leavers Analysis: Looking at the ratio between ACORN 1 tariff points and ACORN 4/5 provides an understanding of the relationship between the two and the extent of the poverty-related attainment gap. The ultimate aim of this measure is to reduce this ratio to one which will indicate equality of outcomes. ➢ In 2019, the ratio was 1.84:1 (close to two times the total tariff points). Reducing this ratio to 1.5 is the stretch aim with 1.7 the intermediate target. 2021 saw a slight narrowing of this gap to 1.82. Ratio between ACORN 1 and ACORN 4/5 total tariff points Source: Insight. Data tables are provided in Appendix 1: Table 8 Staying on Rates S4 to S5 Attainment in the senior phase is strongly related to the stage of leaving school. Overall, 86% of S4 pupils from 2020/2021 stayed on to S5 the following year, a slight dip from the previous high and above the pre- pandemic average. The staying on rate this year from S5 to S6 has moved to 68% after a high last year of 75%. The equity gap remains larger for this transition. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the opportunities and options outwith school education may have had an impact on these rates. There is a clear relationship with deprivation, with pupils from more deprived areas being less likely to stay on, which influences overall attainment and achievement. A widening of this gap is evident in the latest year measured, returning to pre- pandemic levels. As this figure is no longer collected nationally benchmarking is problematic. ➢ The 2020/21 target has been achieved and the authority wide aim is to stretch this further to 90%. The percentage point gap between ACORN 4/5 combined and ACORN 1 has widened to 15% from 10%, away from the stretch aim of 5%. Source: ECS/SEEMiS. Data tables are provided in Appendix 1: Table 10 Looked After Children/Young People and Vulnerable Groups Care should always be taken when interpreting measures for Looked After children and young people due to the small numbers involved. Typically, less than 20 young people fall into the looked after school leavers cohort and for this reason, 3 years results are combined to create rolling averages which allow for a clearer view of trends, although care is still required.
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12 The trends in attainment of Looked After young people are generally in line with the virtual comparator, which is the attainment of the general pupil population from a similar deprivation background, gender and stage of leaving school, although Level 4 literacy is consistently lower. Numeracy levels had improved above the virtual comparator but has now fallen recently below our virtual comparator. These results are heavy influenced by lower figures in 2021. Provisional figures show in S3 the achievement of Curriculum for Excellence third level increased by 3% to 58% for the 16 looked after young people. For primary 1, 4 and 7, 49% of the 36 looked after children achieved expected levels, compared to 37% across the previous three reported years. Improvement in the attainment levels of Looked After Children/Care Experienced Young People continues to be a focus in the Corporate Parenting Strategy and is reviewed at the Raising Attainment Board. Proportion of Looked After school leavers achieving literacy and numeracy at level 4 Literacy Numeracy Source: Insight. Data tables are provided in Appendix 1: Table 11 ➢ These measures have an excellence stretch aim of 90% and a shorter-term target of matching/exceeding the virtual comparator. For numeracy, the latter has been reached but continued efforts will be required to ensure this is maintained, and also reached in literacy. These measures have an excellence stretch aim of 90% and a shorter-term target of matching/exceeding the virtual comparator. For numeracy, the latter had been reached but continued efforts will be required to ensure this is maintained, and also reached in literacy. Considering the attainment of English as an Additional Language (EAL) school leavers over 2019- 2021, the proportion achieving Level 4 literacy and numeracy is slightly lower (at 79%) than those with English as a first language (88%). At Level 5, the gap is slightly wider (51% and 68% respectively). Average total tariff points for Looked After school leavers As with Literacy and Numeracy above, the trend in the attainment of Looked After Young People as measured by tariff points (which indicate overall attainment) it is generally lower than the Virtual Comparator showing the continued focus for improvement for this group of children and young people, especially at the higher end of attainment. Even with a 3-year average, these figures are sensitive to the variation present in a small cohort.
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13 ➢ A stretch aim of achieving the all-leavers total points has been established with a short-term target of meeting the VC. Source: Insight. Data tables are provided in Appendix 1: Table 12 Again, with EAL children and young people, overall tariff points (2019-2021 combined) of school leavers are lower than those with English as a first language by 52% for the lowest and 43% for the middle 60% attainers and 18% for the highest attaining 20, similar to previous years. NIF Priority 3: Improvement in children and young people’s health and wellbeing Health and wellbeing is a core element in our curriculum alongside attainment in literacy and numeracy for all learners from Early Years through BGE and Senior Phase. All young people will have a range of experiences, learning and opportunities to develop, nurture and enhance their health and wellbeing in the classroom and in wider curricular contexts through the ethos and values of their school. These case studies outline some particular and targeted interventions for young people. Case Study:Counselling in Schools S2 pupil attended having been referred due to the impact of childhood trauma, difficulties engaging in school and with self-regulation. The goals agreed with the young person were exploring feelings and emotions and working towards a better understanding of self with increased self-esteem. This young person, over the period of 10 sessions, became noticeably calmer, more reflective and recognised in themselves why they felt emotionally unsafe and where this could be controlled and where it could not. An additional 5 sessions were arranged and by the end of the time, the young person was no longer using a behaviour card, getting good reports from class teachers, had made enquiries into a sports club they were interested in and no longer required to have their behaviour monitored regularly. Friendships had improved as had the overwhelming feeling of responsibility for others in their life. The person-centred approach allowed this young person to go at their own pace, learn about themselves in a manner that impacted them and demonstrate that they were able to manage and control their behaviours in ways they had not previously. Case Study: Social Skills Training In May 2022, the Educational Psychology Service provided online training events for school staff on Circle of Friends and Peer Mediation; two peer-based interventions to promote social inclusion. Circle of Friends involves creating a peer support network (the Circle) for a pupil (the focus pupil) who is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing social exclusion due to having additional support needs or showing challenging behaviour towards others. The Circle meets weekly to problem-solve challenging social situations and collectively develops a plan for dealing with them, with encouragement and recognition for the subsequent achievements of the focus pupil. Peer mediation is a process by which trained pupils (mediators) help their peers to resolve conflict in constructive and non-violent ways. The
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14 conflict can include playground fights, rumour-spreading, or bullying behaviours. During the peer mediation process, the conflict is explored, disagreements are aired, and the conflicting peers are supported to develop a shared plan for resolving the conflict. A total of 16 staff attended the training events. 11 attended Circle of Friends and 6 attended Peer Mediation (one staff member attended both). Following training, staff were invited to identify what further support they would need to implement the approach in their school. Feedback included: wanting more information about the approach; having access to a short refresher training event; having an opportunity to meet and discuss with other trained staff. To address these, the Educational Psychology Service is developing a revised training manual and refresher session, along with further training events. The Service has also set up a peer support network where trained staff can share practice, provide peer encouragement, and discuss and agree the process for evaluating the impact of these interventions on pupils’ social relationships and behaviours. The initial meeting will be held on Wednesday 5 October and facilitated by two Educational Psychologists. School Attendance and Exclusion School Attendance Analysis: Overall attendance in 2021/22 in both primary and secondary was impacted significantly by increased absence related to Coronavirus pandemic response, both sickness and isolation. A return to “normal” attendance recording for a full year is required to understand longer-term trends, as the effect of COVID-19 subsides. ➢ This measure has an excellence stretch aim of 96% attendance in primary and 93% attendance in secondary. Source: ECS. Data tables are provided in Appendix 1: Table 13
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15 School Exclusion Analysis: The rate of exclusions from school continues to reduce in primary and has now reached the stretch aim of 3 per 1000. In secondary, the rate dipped significantly in the COVID-19 impacted year of 2020/21 but has increased to 35 in 2021/22. However, the long- term trend is of reducing exclusion. 2019/20 is an annualised estimate due to the shortened academic year in school. ➢ This measure has an excellence stretch aim of 3 exclusion per 1000 pupils in primary and 20 attendances in secondary. These are more stretching than previous targets. ➢ The equity gap has closed in both primary and widened slightly in secondary and has met the previous stretch aim in primary and the short-term target in secondary. Source: ECS Data tables are provided in Appendix 1: Table 14 Looked After Children and Young People The measures reported are those set out in the Raising Attainment Strategy. In addition, the Perth and Kinross Corporate Parenting Plan 2021-24, Our Promise to You, includes a broader range of measures to consider education and other outcomes for this group of children and young people, considered in thematic groups across the year by the Corporate Parenting Board. School Attendance The attendance of looked after young people is generally lower than their peers. The difference is generally smaller at primary school but increases in secondary and is greatest for those looked after at home. There may be a range of influencing factors in attendance including looked after status. This remains a key focus for the service. Attendance of Looked after Children and Young People – 3 year averages 2017/18 – 2019/20 2019/20-2021/22 Primary Looked after away from home 95% 95% Looked after at home 89% 84% Previously Looked after 93% 91% Not looked after 95% 94% Secondary Looked after away from home 91% 89% Looked after at home 71% 75% Previously Looked after 82% 83% Not looked after 91% 90%
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16 Looking across 3 year periods to increase certainty of analysis (although caution is still required), the attendance gap for looked after children and young people remains and has grown somewhat for primary aged children looked after at home. For secondary age young people, attendance of this cohort has improved in the latest figures. School Exclusion Exclusions of Looked After children and young people have reduced in the same way as the wider pupil population shown above. In 2021/22, there were 16 exclusion incidents of looked after children/young people, compared to 11 in the previous year, and 24 the year previous to that. These were split fairly evenly between those looked after at home and away from home. There were an additional 18 exclusion incidents for those previously looked after. The exclusion rate for looked after children and young people remains higher than those who are not looked after. This is a specific focus for improvement in both the Raising Attainment and the Corporate Parenting Strategies.
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17 NIF Priority 4: Improvement in employability skills and sustained, positive school leaver destinations for all Positive destinations improved this year and our participation measures remained buoyant. More courses were delivered virtually in our Senior Phase by ourselves, through the Regional Improvement Collaborative and partners at University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) Perth College. In session 2021-22 our Tayside Regional Improvement Collaborative Virtual Campus successfully delivered three Advanced Higher Virtual Courses to more than 40 young people across Tayside. Additionally Advanced Higher Physical Education ran as a virtual course successfully within PKC with 13 young people successfully gaining an award. Curricular pathways were further broadened by the creation of 9 virtual National 3 courses supporting young people facing barriers in terms of school attendance and engagement. Effective partnership takes place between schools, Skills Development Scotland, colleges, universities, employers and the DYW Board. A total of 582 business partnerships with schools were recorded in 2021-22- an increase of 53 on session 2020-21. Positive Destinations for Young People Proportion of school leavers in positive initial and follow-Up destinations Information on the destinations of school leavers is collected by SDS and provides information on the outcomes for young people recorded initially in October, approximately three months after leaving school, supplemented by a follow-up survey in March the following year. School leavers who are engaged in higher education, further education, training, voluntary work, or employment (of any kind) are classified as having a ‘positive destination’. Other destinations include school leavers who are taking a “gap” year, are unemployed and not seeking employment or training, unemployed and seeking employment or training, and individuals where their initial destination is not known. Analysis: The proportion of young people entering positive destination on leaving school has been generally improving and is also largely maintained in the follow-up survey. In 2019/20 and 2020/21, the figures will have been impacted by the economic and employment effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and are now just below 95%. ➢ This measure has an excellence stretch aim of 98% positive destination for both initial and follow-up. ➢ There is a 4% gap between ACORN 4/5 and ACORN 1 for 2021, a decrease from 6% in the previous year, but above the target and stretch aim of 3% and 2% respectively. Source: Insight, SDS. Data tables are provided in Appendix 1: Table 17
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18 Considering children and young people with EAL leavers over the last three years (2018-2020), combined to improve the robustness of comparison, have had a higher rate of positive destination (98%) than those with English as their first language. Proportion of Looked After school leavers in positive Initial destinations (3-year combined average) Analysis: Looked After young people who leave school enter positive destinations at a somewhat lower rate than the overall cohort of school leavers, and below the Virtual Comparator. The small numbers of Looked After school leavers mean that caution should be used when looking at these figures. The numbers of leavers in each year’s cohort will also vary significantly, but the latest 3 yr. average shows an improvement. ➢ This measure has a stretch aim of the all-leaver destination figure (as shown above), and an interim target of the VC. Source: Insight. Data tables are provided in Appendix 1: Table 18 Proportion of young people (aged 16-19) in education, training or employment To supplement the school leaver information, SDS also reports the Annual Participation Measure. This measure reports on participation in education, training or employment for all 16–19-year- olds from across the population rather than focusing specifically on school leavers and is therefore a broader and preferred measure of positive outcomes. The measure shows a gradual improvement in the proportion of young people in education, training or employment, but the latest year will likely have been impacted by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The figures are above the Scottish average (92.4% in 2022) and the number not participating totals 194 individuals, with 155 unconfirmed. ➢ This measure has a stretch aim of 96%. The interim target of 94% was met but will need to be sustained in future years. 90.6% 92.8% 93.1% 94.0% 93.4% 94.8% 93.6% 93.7% 5.0% 4.4% 4.4% 2.9% 3.7% 2.5% 3.5% 2.8% 4.4% 2.7% 2.5% 3.1% 3.0% 2.8% 2.9% 3.5% Stretch Aim, 96% 70% 75% 80% 85% 90% 95% 100% 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Not Participating Unconfirmed Status Participating
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19 Source: Skills Development Scotland. More information available from the SDS dashboard. SIMD Data tables are provided in Appendix 1: Table 19 S4/ S5 School Leavers: Highers and vocational qualifications Some school leavers (especially those leaving after S4 and S5) achieve few or no Higher-level qualifications, which are key to continuing to Higher Education and other destinations. Vocational qualifications (VQ) will have greater importance for these cohorts of leavers. In the latest year (2021), 68% of S4/S5 leavers did not achieve a Higher. This translates to the headline indicator for the new raising attainment strategy of 55% of leavers without Highers who achieve a vocational qualification at any level, similar to the previous year’s performance. Proportion of S4/S5 leavers (without a Higher) who achieve a vocational qualification Source: Insight/ECS. Data for the overall indicator is provided in Appendix 1: Table 20
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20 Annex 1: Supporting Data Developmental Milestones of Pre-school Children Table 1: Pre-school Development Milestones: Proportion of P1 meeting all milestones 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Perth and Kinross 79.4% 81.2% 81.4% 80.5% 77.4%* 82.0% 83.4% *Not considered part of the time series due to COVID-19 lockdown 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Gap between ACORN 4/5 and 1 16% 16% 14% 14% 16%* 9% 5% Broad General Education Table 2: Proportion of Roll meeting expected CfE Levels (not collected in 2019/20. S3 not collected in 2020/21) Stage Area 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2020/21 2021/22 P1 – Early Level Reading - 70% 71% 76% 77% 76% 79% Writing - 68% 68% 72% 72% 72% 75% Listening & Talking - 77% 74% 81% 81% 79% 84% Maths & Numeracy - 73% 72% 80% 80% 79% 84% P4 – First Level Reading 72% 72% 69% 76% 76% 73% 76% Writing 64% 62% 61% 68% 67% 63% 67% Listening & Talking 76% 78% 75% 82% 82% 81% 84% Maths & Numeracy 65% 65% 65% 71% 71% 69% 74% P7 – Second Level Reading 68% 69% 71% 78% 77% 77% 79% Writing 58% 61% 63% 69% 67% 68% 70% Listening & Talking 70% 73% 77% 83% 84% 83% 87% Maths & Numeracy 59% 63% 65% 70% 68% 71% 74% S3 – Third Level Reading 73% 76% 76% 79% 82% - 90% Writing 72% 73% 74% 73% 82% - 90% Listening & Talking 77% 77% 79% 80% 84% - 92% Maths & Numeracy 77% 79% 75% 80% 82% - 91% Table 3: CfE Levels: Gap between ACORN 4/5 and 1 Stage Area 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2020/21* 2021/22 P1 – Early Level Reading 26% 19% 21% 18% 23% Writing 29% 17% 21% 18% 23% Listening & Talking 21% 16% 17% 18% 16% Maths & Numeracy 27% 14% 14% 14% 17% P4 – First Level Reading 27% 17% 20% 21% 18% Writing 31% 24% 22% 21% 21% Listening & Talking 28% 16% 15% 20% 19% Maths & Numeracy 26% 17% 23% 24% 21%
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21 Stage Area 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2020/21* 2021/22 P7 – Second Level Reading 28% 19% 20% 16% 20% Writing 27% 21% 20% 23% 25% Listening & Talking 24% 14% 15% 15% 19% Maths & Numeracy 28% 18% 20% 20% 21% Stage Area 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2021/22 S3 – Third Level Reading 22% 35% 19% 55% 54% Writing 21% 30% 17% 50% 52% Listening & Talking 24% 31% 22% 48% 54% Maths & Numeracy 37% 37% 31% 47% 47% *These figures revised from those previously published, after quality control Table 4: CfE Levels: P1, P4 and P7 Stages combined by SIMD Quintile Reading 2016 /17 2017/ 18 2018 /19 2020/ 21 2021 /22 Writing 2016 /17 2017/ 18 2018/ 19 2020 /21 2021 /22 Quintile 1 47% 60% 61% 57% 63% Quintile 1 41% 54% 54% 51% 55% Quintile 2 58% 65% 66% 64% 66% Quintile 2 49% 55% 59% 56% 59% Quintile 3 69% 78% 74% 74% 77% Quintile 3 62% 71% 66% 64% 68% Quintile 4 76% 79% 81% 78% 82% Quintile 4 69% 72% 72% 70% 76% Quintile 5 76% 84% 82% 82% 85% Quintile 5 71% 77% 76% 75% 77% Listening & Talking 2016 /17 2017/ 18 2018 /19 2020/ 21 2021 /22 Maths & Numeracy 2016 /17 2017/ 18 2018/ 19 2020 /21 2021 /22 Quintile 1 57% 69% 71% 64% 71% Quintile 1 46% 62% 56% 58% 65% Quintile 2 65% 76% 73% 70% 75% Quintile 2 56% 64% 65% 63% 65% Quintile 3 76% 81% 81% 80% 85% Quintile 3 66% 75% 71% 70% 75% Quintile 4 82% 84% 85% 84% 89% Quintile 4 72% 75% 77% 75% 81% Quintile 5 82% 88% 86% 87% 89% Quintile 5 74% 80% 78% 80% 83% Senior Phase (S4 – S6) Table 5: Proportion of school leavers achieving literacy and numeracy at SCQF levels 4 and 5 Literacy 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Level 4 Perth & Kinross 90% 93% 91% 92% 93% 94% 93% 93% Virtual Comparator 93% 94% 94% 95% 95% 94% 95% 95% Level 5 Perth & Kinross 73% 78% 75% 77% 80% 82% 83% 83% Virtual Comparator 71% 77% 79% 81% 82% 82% 84% 85% Numeracy 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Level 4 Perth & Kinross 82% 87% 87% 88% 92% 92% 91% 90% Virtual Comparator 84% 89% 90% 91% 92% 92% 93% 92% Level 5 Perth & Kinross 58% 63% 65% 62% 65% 67% 71% 71% Virtual Comparator 61% 65% 67% 69% 70% 70% 73% 74%
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22 Table 6: School Leavers Literacy and Numeracy: Gap between ACORN 4/5 and 1. 2018 2019 2020 2021 Literacy Level 4 Gap 9% 4% 10% 11% Level 5 Gap 23% 13% 22% 21% Numeracy Level 4 Gap 9% 5% 11% 11% Level 5 Gap 24% 21% 26% 28% Table 7: Average total tariff scores of school leavers, grouped by achievement level. 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Perth & Kinross Lowest Achieving 20% 158 216 167 159 173 161 154 160 Middle 60% 877 928 897 868 892 853 968 1005 Highest Achieving 20% 1888 1940 1931 1865 1921 1916 1974 2014 Virtual Comparator Lowest Achieving 20% 170 179 168 171 173 153 174 176 Middle 60% 851 882 833 843 867 857 949 1019 Highest Achieving 20% 1845 1864 1827 1848 1866 1871 1974 2045 Table 8: School leavers – Ratio between ACORN 1 and 4/5 2018 2019 2020 2021 Perth & Kinross 1.80 1.84 1.86 1.82 Table 9: School leavers’ breadth and depth of Attainment (A-D Awards) % of leavers achieving .. 2018 2019 2020 2021 5+@5 Perth & Kinross 66% 64% 69% 71% Virtual Comparator 65% 66% 71% 72% 1+@6 Perth & Kinross 67% 65% 70% 71% Virtual Comparator 66% 67% 71% 72% 3+@6 Perth & Kinross 51% 50% 58% 56% Virtual Comparator 51% 53% 58% 60% 5+@6 Perth & Kinross 36% 37% 43% 43% Virtual Comparator 37% 39% 43% 46% 1+@7 Perth & Kinross 28% 27% 33% 33% Virtual Comparator 24% 24% 28% 30% Staying-On Rates Table 10: Proportion of S4 pupils staying on to S5, by ACORN Category and Gap 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 ACORN 1 93% 92% 90% 91% 92% 92% ACORN 4/5 79% 77% 76% 79% 83% 77% Gap 15% 14% 15% 12% 10% 15%
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23 Looked After Children and Young People Table 11: Proportion of Looked After school leavers attaining Literacy and Numeracy as SCQF Level 4 (3-year average) Looked After at the time of the Pupil Census 2013- 2015 2014- 2016 2015- 2017 2016- 2018 2017- 2019 2018- 2020 2019- 2021 Literacy PKC 60% 62% 67% 68% 77% 76% 64% Virtual Comparator 77% 78% 81% 81% 84% 82% 83% Numeracy PKC 53% 55% 59% 65% 83% 80% 65% Virtual Comparator 52% 56% 63% 62% 77% 76% 73% Table 12: Average total tariff points of Looked After school leavers (3-year average) Looked After at the time of the Pupil Census 2013-15 2014-16 2015-17 2016-18 2017-19 2018-20 2019-21 Perth & Kinross Highest Achieving 20% 1065 786 868 782 653 636 771 Middle 60% 172 186 210 191 210 197 178 Lowest Achieving 20% 21 21 34 19 31 27 27 Virtual Comparator Highest Achieving 20% 1107 986 996 1012 1180 1059 1083 Middle 60% 251 238 286 290 315 284 290 Lowest Achieving 20% 39 37 51 54 58 44 34 Stretch aim figures for PKC overall 2019-21 average: Highest 20%: 1968 Middle 60%: 942 Lowest 20%: 158 Attendance and Exclusion Table 13: Overall attendance in primary and secondary schools 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Primary 95.4% 95.3% 95.2% 94.8% 95.0% 94.1% 95.3% 92.4% Secondary 91.9% 91.5% 91.1% 91.1% 90.5% 90.0% 91.2% 87.7% Table 14: Exclusion rate in primary and secondary schools (exclusion incidents per 1000 pupils) 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Primary 10 11 9 6 8 7 6 3 Secondary 51 48 46 45 55 41 23 35 Table 15: Attendance rate in primary and secondary schools (exclusion incidents per 1000 pupils) – gap between ACORN 4/5 and 1 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Primary 2.7% 3.2% 3.3% 3.3% Secondary 6.6% 6.7% 4.9% 6.1% Table 16: Exclusion rate in primary and secondary schools (exclusion incidents per 1000 pupils) – gap between ACORN 4/5 and 1 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Primary 9 6 4 4 Secondary 31 28 23 23
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24 Positive Destinations Table 17: Proportion of school leavers with positive initial and follow-up destinations Measure 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 Initial destination 92% 95% 94% 96% 97% 94% 97% Follow-up destination 94% 94% 94% 95% 96% 95% 95% Table 18: Proportion of Looked After school leavers with positive initial destinations Looked After at the time of the Pupil Census 2014-2016 2015-2017 2016-2018 2017-2019 2018-2020 2019-2021 Looked After school leavers 88% 82% 81% 83% 82% 85% Virtual Comparator 84% 85% 88% 90% 88% 88% Table 19: Proportion of 16–19-year-olds in positive participation, by SIMD Quintile and equity gap Measure 2019 2020 2021 2022 SIMD Q1 87.2% 89.1% 85.9% 89.1% SIMD Q5 95.3% 97.2% 95.7% 96.4% Gap between Q1 and Q5 8.1% 8.1% 9.8% 7.3% Table 20: Proportion of S4/S5 Leavers without Highers who achieve a vocational qualification (at any level) 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 Number of S4 and S5 Leavers 556 608 555 540 425 536 % of leavers without Highers who achieve a vocational qualification 63% 59% 53% 34% 54% 55%
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25 Glossary Entry Explanation ACORN A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods BGE Broad General Education CfE Curriculum for Excellence CLPL Career Long Professional Learning DYW Developing Young Workforce ECS Education and Children’s Services EEF Education Endowment Foundation ELAV Extended Learning and Achievement Visit HWB Health and Well-being LAV Learning and Achievement Visit LMG Local Management Group NIF National Improvement Framework (for Scottish Education) PEF Pupil Equity Funding PLL Professional Learning and Leadership QAMSO Quality Assurance and Moderation Support Officers QIO Quality Improvement Officer RAB Raising Attainment Board RAS Raising Attainment Strategy SCQF Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework SDS Skills Development Scotland SEEMiS Scotland’s Education Management Information System provider SIMD Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation SNSA Scottish National Standardised Assessment SQA Scottish Qualifications Authority TRIC Tayside Regional Improvement Collaborative VC Virtual Comparator